niños y jóvenes

Los estudiantes pasan el rato en el Shop 55 Wellness Center en Oakland High School en Oakland el 10 de mayo de 2024. Oakland High puede ofrecer una variedad de servicios médicos a los estudiantes a través del Programa de Asociación de Escuelas Comunitarias de California (CCSPP). Foto de Juliana Yamada para CalMatters

Comentario

Community schools are key ingredient of California’s tumbling crime rates

Community schools are becoming neighborhood hubs by prioritizing academics, youth and family services, mental health and restorative justice.

By Castle Redmond and John H. Jackson • febrero 17, 2026

A person in a grey sweatshirt is placing a cellphone into a dark grey packet on a table in a classroom. Behind the person is a group of students and adults standing around, talking and holding their cell phone packets.

Reacciones de los lectores

California schools that ban cellphones make students want them more

Punishing all for the noncompliance of a few breeds resentment. Schools should confiscate phones from students who repeatedly offend.

By Evelyn Thill • febrero 13, 2026

Un aula vacía para estudiantes de preescolar y jardín de infantes en Burnt Ranch el 13 de diciembre de 2019. Dave Woody para CalMatters

Educación

Child care in California was already hard to find — the immigration crackdown has made it worse

In California, almost 40% of the workforce is foreign-born and more than a million parents — immigrant and otherwise — rely on child care providers so they can go to work.

Por

Carolina Jones

• febrero 2, 2026

A newborn’s small hand gently curls around an adult’s finger, with a soft hospital blanket and the infant’s arm blurred in the background.

Comentario

California neglects its private duty nurses and fails its sick children

Hundreds of California children are stuck in hospitals because their families wait months or years for private nursing care they’re legally entitled to.

By Jarrod DePriest • enero 30, 2026

Cars drive through an intersection as they pass a donut shop with a giant donut structure on top of the building.

Comentario

Californian mourns a childhood friend lost in a changing community

The Inglewood that raised Mike and Joshua has been gentrified. But a cemetery preserves Mike's grave and the memories of their childhood together.

By Joshua Hernandez • enero 15, 2026

Pilas de paquetes de tortillas en un supermercado en Fresno el 9 de abril de 2024. Foto de Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Salud

A new California law requires tortillas to include an extra ingredient. Here’s why

Starting in 2026, California tortillas will contain folic acid to help prevent birth defects—a change aimed at closing a gap for Latina mothers.

Por

Ana B Ibarra

• diciembre 26, 2025

A view of two silhouettes of students walking through a dark hallway of a school with light shining through a doorway at the end of the hallway. One silhouette holds a lunch box and a water bottle in one hand.

Comentario

California’s schools can’t afford to cut counselors. They keep kids alive in dangerous times

With suicide and violence stalking students, counselors are often the first to notice kids in trouble. They're also among the first to lose their jobs to budget cuts.

By Ayo Banjo • diciembre 9, 2025

Two people sit across from each other at an outdoor table on a college campus, talking quietly. Leaves are scattered on the ground, and a brick archway and greenery appear in the background. Another person sits further behind them, partially visible.

Comentario

California’s rural youth struggle alone with mental health. Their peers could learn to help them

Suicide is 50% higher among rural young people than among others in urban or suburban environments. Many also live too far to get counseling.

By Alonzia Quinn • noviembre 19, 2025

Painted letters and numbers on the asphalt of a school as the feet and shadows of young children can be seen in the background.

Comentario

California’s early intervention for youngsters with special needs is a lifeline — hanging by a thread

Federal cuts to Medicaid will mean fewer slots, longer waits and fewer therapists at Early Start, a program for children and babies with special needs.

By Kelly Keck • noviembre 17, 2025

A white ambulance truck is parked in front of a light brown building with a sign that reads "Plumas Hospital District."

Salud

She drove a hundred miles to give birth. New California laws are bringing maternity care closer to home

Three years after closing its maternity ward, a new state law will help a rural Northern California hospital bring birth services back to the community.

Por

kristen hwang

• noviembre 12, 2025